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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
4.5 stars from me!
So, I finally got round to reading Elmet! After being short-listed for a number of prizes including the Man Booker and The Women's Prize For Fiction here in the UK I had heard so much about this work of literary fiction and knew it was something I just had to experience. Luckily for me, I didn't have to do it alone. The wonderful Jennifer from Tar Heel Reader, blogger extraordinare, beautiful bookstagrammer, all round good egg and one of my blogger besties read this with me as our very first buddy read and that's just one of the many reasons why this book will now always have a special place in my heart. Elmet is not only a literary masterpiece and one of the very best examples of the genre for those wishing to dip their toes into literary fiction but is a debut novel for crying out loud! It's almost impossible to believe, the author writes with such beauty and conviction that you'd assume she'd been mistress of her art for decades.
Jennifer and I had such a wonderful discussion about Elmet and it really was a pleasure to share this quiet but powerful read with her and feed off each others insights. The story of Daniel, Cathy and their Daddy who live quite a simple, meagre existence out in the wilderness moves along at the beginning at a relatively slow pace but the emotional punch it ends up packing is truly a mighty one. There are so many questions and reasons for wanting to carry on reading and each moment we stopped to discuss what we had read, I found myself eagerly anticipating not only how the narrative would continue but how interesting our chat was going to end up being! Why have the family isolated themselves in the woods? What has happened to Daniel and Cathy's mother? Furthermore, when their way of living is threatened, how will each character individually respond and what will be the ramifications of their actions?
It was fairly obvious to me from the very start that Mozley is a spectacularly gifted writer. Her words drip from the pages like honey and she talks about the landscape in particular so vividly and in so much glorious detail that you could almost smell the mud under your feet. Elmet is a celebration of nature and how we can harness it to live a far less complicated existence but more importantly, this is a story of the bond between a father and his children. Daniel, Cathy and Daddy are such outstanding and impressively drawn characters, all with their own unique personalities that it was exciting to follow their journey, celebrate their eccentricities and worry about their futures.
If you like your fiction to have a clear and distinct resolution, I have to say this might not be the novel for you. Elmet can be kind of vague, nothing is wrapped up neatly with a little bow, occasionally the reader makes up their own mind about what a specific individual might be thinking or indeed, by the end, how their story may continue. However, the subtle little clues the author expertly drops along the way left me in no doubt about my particular interpretation of events. Even now, weeks after finishing this novel, I'm still thinking about where our characters might be and how they might be coping after a dramatic finale that left both Jennifer and I reeling.
Elmet is a book that works even better when the finer points of the narrative are chewed over with a friend and I'm so grateful to Jennifer for being that person that I was fortunate enough to experience it with. If you like your literary fiction descriptive, full of heart and thought-provoking, I would definitely suggest this novel and hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
For my full review and many more, please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
So, I finally got round to reading Elmet! After being short-listed for a number of prizes including the Man Booker and The Women's Prize For Fiction here in the UK I had heard so much about this work of literary fiction and knew it was something I just had to experience. Luckily for me, I didn't have to do it alone. The wonderful Jennifer from Tar Heel Reader, blogger extraordinare, beautiful bookstagrammer, all round good egg and one of my blogger besties read this with me as our very first buddy read and that's just one of the many reasons why this book will now always have a special place in my heart. Elmet is not only a literary masterpiece and one of the very best examples of the genre for those wishing to dip their toes into literary fiction but is a debut novel for crying out loud! It's almost impossible to believe, the author writes with such beauty and conviction that you'd assume she'd been mistress of her art for decades.
Jennifer and I had such a wonderful discussion about Elmet and it really was a pleasure to share this quiet but powerful read with her and feed off each others insights. The story of Daniel, Cathy and their Daddy who live quite a simple, meagre existence out in the wilderness moves along at the beginning at a relatively slow pace but the emotional punch it ends up packing is truly a mighty one. There are so many questions and reasons for wanting to carry on reading and each moment we stopped to discuss what we had read, I found myself eagerly anticipating not only how the narrative would continue but how interesting our chat was going to end up being! Why have the family isolated themselves in the woods? What has happened to Daniel and Cathy's mother? Furthermore, when their way of living is threatened, how will each character individually respond and what will be the ramifications of their actions?
It was fairly obvious to me from the very start that Mozley is a spectacularly gifted writer. Her words drip from the pages like honey and she talks about the landscape in particular so vividly and in so much glorious detail that you could almost smell the mud under your feet. Elmet is a celebration of nature and how we can harness it to live a far less complicated existence but more importantly, this is a story of the bond between a father and his children. Daniel, Cathy and Daddy are such outstanding and impressively drawn characters, all with their own unique personalities that it was exciting to follow their journey, celebrate their eccentricities and worry about their futures.
If you like your fiction to have a clear and distinct resolution, I have to say this might not be the novel for you. Elmet can be kind of vague, nothing is wrapped up neatly with a little bow, occasionally the reader makes up their own mind about what a specific individual might be thinking or indeed, by the end, how their story may continue. However, the subtle little clues the author expertly drops along the way left me in no doubt about my particular interpretation of events. Even now, weeks after finishing this novel, I'm still thinking about where our characters might be and how they might be coping after a dramatic finale that left both Jennifer and I reeling.
Elmet is a book that works even better when the finer points of the narrative are chewed over with a friend and I'm so grateful to Jennifer for being that person that I was fortunate enough to experience it with. If you like your literary fiction descriptive, full of heart and thought-provoking, I would definitely suggest this novel and hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
For my full review and many more, please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
reflective
slow-paced
A modern gothic, rural melodrama. At it’s heart, Elmet is the gritty story of a complex family dynamic, and a good vs. evil battle that has us rooting for the questionably deplorable underdog. A solid 4 stars to start with, but with a few days to mull over this story, this has crept up to a well deserved 5 stars from me.
At the head of our tight knit familial trio, we have ‘Daddy’. A violent and damaged man who is driven by a primal love and need to care for his family and those less fortunate. Daddy has an almost Robin Hood type quality that endears us to him despite his obvious flaws. Whilst he clearly loves his children, he also lets them drink and smoke, exposes them to violence, and often deserts them for long periods at a time. A bare knuckle fighter, for want of an honest trade, he manages to be a formidable fighter, masculine and intimidating, whilst carrying a fierce need to protect what is his, having a strong sense of honour.
Fourteen year old Daniel, son of Daddy, narrates this story. A quiet, somewhat effeminate boy with a kind nature, who cares more about ‘making house’ than following in the barbarous footsteps of his father. His sister, the far less inhibited Cathy, is a year older and a clear tomboy. She is far closer to her fathers nature, and appears to take after him in looks too, both dark and brooding. There is a strength to her character that plays out so interestingly. Looking at the offspring of this man in this way, one boy and one girl, manages to say a lot about the intricacies of gender without doing so explicitly, and I felt this aspect of the novel was really unique.
On the surface, this is a fairly uneventful story, yet the poetic language draws greatly on the landscape and creates a wonderfully rustic environment which acts as the backdrop to this curious life. For most of their lives, Daniel and Cathy live with Granny Morley, a constant presence in their lives, whilst Daddy and the briefly mentioned (yet equally tortured) mother, flutter in and out. Their childhoods appear strained, but in many ways they live a normal life. Events lead Daddy to take his children away from this normality, to the place their mother was from. He builds a house purely from scratch, sourcing materials from the surrounding forests, and they live primitively but happily. Unfortunately, but not entirely unintentionally, he happens to be building on a piece of woodland that isn’t his to build on. From this point on, the melodrama begins to creep in, and we are drawn towards a surprising and intense climax.
I really, really enjoyed this book. Whilst admittedly not for everyone, this is a fantastic debut, and Mozley has a voice that I definitely want to hear more from. I’d love some short stories from this author, another novel, to hear her speak – it’s safe to say I’m excited for what might be to come. I’m so glad this novel was recognised by the Man Booker Prize, and whilst it didn’t win, it was my personal favourite.
At the head of our tight knit familial trio, we have ‘Daddy’. A violent and damaged man who is driven by a primal love and need to care for his family and those less fortunate. Daddy has an almost Robin Hood type quality that endears us to him despite his obvious flaws. Whilst he clearly loves his children, he also lets them drink and smoke, exposes them to violence, and often deserts them for long periods at a time. A bare knuckle fighter, for want of an honest trade, he manages to be a formidable fighter, masculine and intimidating, whilst carrying a fierce need to protect what is his, having a strong sense of honour.
Fourteen year old Daniel, son of Daddy, narrates this story. A quiet, somewhat effeminate boy with a kind nature, who cares more about ‘making house’ than following in the barbarous footsteps of his father. His sister, the far less inhibited Cathy, is a year older and a clear tomboy. She is far closer to her fathers nature, and appears to take after him in looks too, both dark and brooding. There is a strength to her character that plays out so interestingly. Looking at the offspring of this man in this way, one boy and one girl, manages to say a lot about the intricacies of gender without doing so explicitly, and I felt this aspect of the novel was really unique.
On the surface, this is a fairly uneventful story, yet the poetic language draws greatly on the landscape and creates a wonderfully rustic environment which acts as the backdrop to this curious life. For most of their lives, Daniel and Cathy live with Granny Morley, a constant presence in their lives, whilst Daddy and the briefly mentioned (yet equally tortured) mother, flutter in and out. Their childhoods appear strained, but in many ways they live a normal life. Events lead Daddy to take his children away from this normality, to the place their mother was from. He builds a house purely from scratch, sourcing materials from the surrounding forests, and they live primitively but happily. Unfortunately, but not entirely unintentionally, he happens to be building on a piece of woodland that isn’t his to build on. From this point on, the melodrama begins to creep in, and we are drawn towards a surprising and intense climax.
I really, really enjoyed this book. Whilst admittedly not for everyone, this is a fantastic debut, and Mozley has a voice that I definitely want to hear more from. I’d love some short stories from this author, another novel, to hear her speak – it’s safe to say I’m excited for what might be to come. I’m so glad this novel was recognised by the Man Booker Prize, and whilst it didn’t win, it was my personal favourite.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is one of the most intriguing, atmospheric books i’ve read in a long time.
In short, it’s incredible, but you only realise this once it’s over.
Absolutely glorious and everyone should read it!!
In short, it’s incredible, but you only realise this once it’s over.
Absolutely glorious and everyone should read it!!
This is my third ManBooker of the year, which means I am right on track, and I have to say that I am enjoying this list (so far) so much more than the previous year. Elmet, is told from Daniel's point of view, a young boy who lives with his father and sister in an isolated house built by them from scratch. This was a strange one, with echoes of Wuthering Heights, Biblical undertones, and something I can't quite but my finger on, but was an enjoyable read. I will have a full review on it's was, and I should also mention that I received an eARC of this book through NetGalley, but all opines are, as always, my own.
Don't forget to check out my full SPOILER FREE review https://cartonmanettedarnay.wordpress.com/2018/04/19/review-elmet/
Come find me at www.cartonmanettedarnay.wordpress.com
Don't forget to check out my full SPOILER FREE review https://cartonmanettedarnay.wordpress.com/2018/04/19/review-elmet/
Come find me at www.cartonmanettedarnay.wordpress.com
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not sure how I feel about this one. I liked some parts of it, mostly the nature descriptions but the story was somehow lacking.
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes